NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having one or more chronic
illness is the primary factor associated with the use of
dietary supplements. Cancer survivors also use supplements to
treat chronic medical conditions, but not specifically for
cancer, a new study shows.

Given the lack of information on the risks and benefits of
many supplements, as well as their potential for interaction
with drugs cancer survivors may be taking, such as tamoxifen,
it's imperative for cancer patients to let their physician know
about what non-prescription medications and natural products
they may be taking, lead author, Dr. Melissa Farmer Miller,
told Reuters Health.

"We really are just beginning to build an evidence base on
the benefits of dietary supplements," said Miller, of the
National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. "Even if
there's not a benefit, there is a potential for them to cause
harm."

ADVERTISEMENT

Supplement use is growing among all Americans, Miller
noted. To understand whether cancer survivors are using
supplements more than the general population, she and her
colleagues analyzed information from 1,844 cancer survivors and
a random sampling of 7,343 people with no history of cancer.

The only type of supplement use independently associated
with having a cancer diagnosis were single vitamins, the
researchers found. However, the subjects who reported having a
chronic illness were 82 percent more likely than those without
a chronic disease to be using two or more supplements, whether
or not they also had cancer.

Other factors associated with the use of dietary
supplements included female sex, older age, greater physical
activity, consumption of fruits and vegetables, and the use of
other complementary and alternative medicines.

Miller noted that it's impossible right now to definitively
state that people living with cancer should -- or shouldn't --
take supplements. "The primary message should always be to
promote a healthy diet," she said.

Doctors and other health professionals caring for cancer
patients should be up on the literature about various
supplements and should be sure to ask about supplement use,
Miller said.

Cancer patients also need to be as well informed as
possible about any supplement before they take it, Miller said.
This can be tough, she noted, given the lack of regulation of
dietary supplements in the U.S. and the limited information on
their risks and benefits.

"Consumers are really kind of out there on their own, and
should confer with their health care providers about supplement
use."